Mozambique: Access road to Macaneta reopens after floods, limited to low-tonnage vehicles

The main access road to the tourist town of Macaneta, in Maputo province, has reopened after two weeks, albeit with restrictions, the local mayor announced today, as work continues to restore the road damaged by floods that have affected Mozambique since January. “A conditional reopening of the road has been carried out, only for vehicles with lower tonnage, namely under 10 tonnes,” said Shafee Sidat, explaining that floodwaters created a “very large hole” in the road and destroyed water drainage pipes along the route, making access to Macaneta difficult. The mayor also highlighted the depth of the floodwaters, which left only the tops of trees and palm trees visible, along with small signs of traffic signage and toll booths, with the road completely submerged.

The road will also be restricted at night and is expected to operate on an alternating basis. “People will not be stopped, but according to the plan we have drawn up with REVIMO and ANE, who are carrying out this work, (…) whenever necessary we will implement a ‘stop and go’ system to allow repairs to continue,” he added. At present, the municipality, on the outskirts of Maputo, has eight active accommodation centres, hosting around 3,600 people.

Since the start of the rainy season in October, including the floods in January, 153 deaths have been recorded, in addition to 254 injured and 844,372 people affected, according to data from the National Institute for Disaster Risk Management (INGD). On 16 January, the government declared a national red alert. According to updated data, there are currently 77 active accommodation centres, hosting 76,251 people.

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The same update indicates that since 7 January, 229 health facilities and 316 schools have been affected, as well as five bridges. INGD figures also show that 440,842 hectares of agricultural land have been affected, of which 275,405 hectares are considered lost, impacting the livelihoods of 314,780 farmers, in addition to the death of 408,115 head of livestock, including cattle, goats and poultry. The European Union, the United States, Portugal, Angola, Spain, Timor-Leste, Switzerland, Norway and Japan, as well as neighbouring countries, have already sent emergency humanitarian assistance.

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